Mix
festering rage with edgy wit and you have a powerful formula for theatrical
success. And playwright Eric Bogosian captures a lot of that pissed-off magic
in Pounding Nails In The Floor With My
Forehead, now at the None Too Fragile Theater.
With
Sean Derry as the sole actor, this is a revisiting of the performance Derry did
some years ago as part of the Bang and Clatter company. And it once again
highlights many of Derry’s significant strengths: his go-for-broke commitment
to the scuzziest of characters, his precise comic timing, and his willingness
to engage and confront an audience.
Under
the smooth direction of Alanna Romansky, the two-act show glides from character
to character as Bogosian unwraps various forms of male bile—from odd sexual
predilections (one involving Dame Judi Dench fucking him in the ass while
pounding on his head with a wooden mallet) to various macho frustrations with
feminist excesses, suburban sell-outs and people who drive Honda Accords at the
speed limit.
It
is a tribute to Derry that he can still ignite jokes from some damp, dated
material. In “Medicine,” the script pokes fun at all the side effects from some
drugs. This was written long before the TV ads that dominate these days, with
descriptions of side effects that are truly terrifying and funnier, in a
ghastly way, than anything Bogosian could imagine.
While
Derry has perfected his vocal presentation over the years, developing his deep
guttural rasp into a kind of narrative music reminiscent of Tom Waits, this
“fried” voice has its limitations. One is that it’s harder to delineate
different characters since they all sound like variations of one guy.
But
when that one guy is Sean Derry, you are in for one whale of a ride. And you’ll
find yourself laughing in spite of yourself.
Pounding
Nails in the Floor with My Forehead
Split
run: 11-24, 11-25, then 12-5 through 12-8, None Too Fragile Theater, 1835
Merriman Road, Akron (Enter through Bricco Pub), 330-671-4563.
No comments:
Post a Comment